Local philanthropist Jack Gallivan hopes to end homelessness in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Many Utahns are used to donating a certain percentage of their income to charity, and a local philanthropist is hoping they'll apply that same philosophy in a unified quest to end chronic homelessness statewide.

Jack Gallivan, former publisher of the Salt Lake Tribune, is asking every Utah household and business to pledge 1 percent of their annual income one time, in a concerted bid to provide "supportive housing" for people who are chronically homeless.

His "1% Campaign" kicked off recently, with the hope that small payments by many Utahns spread out over as much as three years will provide a permanent "housing-first" endowment to end homelessness in Utah.

The goal is $100 million, which would fund permanent housing and support services in perpetuity.

"If your annual income is $50,000, we're hoping for a donation of $500 — whether that's in one lump sum or spread out in small payments over three years," Gallivan said. A monthly payment to cover that pledge would amount to about $14. Detailed information can be found and pledges can be made on the campaign's website, www.CrusadeForTheHomeless.org or by calling 801-263-4099.

Gallivan's Crusade for the Homeless Foundation was founded more than a decade ago, as public and private interests were trying to find ways to effectively address the dynamics that feed the cycle of homelessness some people fall into.

By 2004, Gallivan — along with community advocates and government partners — had adopted a housing-first philosophy that has been proven to reduce chronic homelessness by finding permanent housing quickly and then offering other services that ultimately save tax dollars, he said.

The system keeps chronically homeless people out of emergency shelters, jails and treatment facilities that are more costly than simply housing them in the first place, he said. A 2009 study found that the housing-first approach has saved the state $3.3 million in less than five years and resulted in a 33 percent drop in the number of long-term homeless people using emergency shelter space.

While people who have been homeless for more than a year represent only 10 percent of those who find themselves without a place to live at any given time, they consume 50 percent of the available resources, Gallivan said.

Utah's efforts to build supportive housing apartments — for which residents pay 30 percent of their income — have resulted in about 500 units currently serving the chronically homeless. Social service providers are also involved on a regular basis with residents to help meet a variety of needs. Gallivan estimates the state needs another 2,500 such units.